4 ways to tame financial stress and save for retirement

Maybe you feel like you don’t earn enough. Or you don’t understand how investing works. Or maybe you can’t organize your finances. These are factors that can lead to financial stress and set back your retirement savings.

A lack of assets and money management challenges are contributing factors to high levels of financial anxiety and stress, according to a 2021 report called Financial Anxiety and Stress Among U.S. Households from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center.

“We also find that financial anxiety and stress can have long-term consequences: those who are financially anxious and stressed are less likely to plan for retirement,” the report says.

Sometimes when people are worried about something financial, they just ignore it, says Adam Frank, a certified financial planner and registered investment advisor based in Los Angeles.

“But the problem is, the longer you wait to start investing or continue investing for retirement, the more you have to do later,” Frank says.

STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING FINANCIAL STRESS

If financial stress is affecting your ability to save for retirement, you may have to work longer and you may also risk running out of money in retirement. But getting started as soon as you can could help you reach your retirement goals faster.

If you’re anxious about your ability to save for the future, here’s how you can manage those feelings and get on track.

1. CREATE A REALISTIC BUDGET

“The first thing will be to get organized — you know, the big, bad B word, it gets a bad rap, it’s budgeting,” says Lauryn Williams , a Dallas-based CFP and Olympic medalist in both women’s track and field sprint and two-woman bobsled.

Budgeting can help you save more,...